Method and apparatus for bending glass sheets

ABSTRACT

For bending a glass sheet so that the glass sheet has a compound curvature, an apparatus comprises a furnace including hearth beds on a bed support and a quenching unit provided with upper and lower air blowers. The final hearth bed may have a top surface with a simple curvature, be provided with one upstream corner cut away thereby defining a cut surface section and arranged in such a manner that the cut surface section is nearly parallel to the hearth bed adjacent to the final hearth bed. Alternatively, the final hearth bed may have a top surface with a compound curvature, so that the glass sheet is bent under the conditions set by controlling a temperature in a downstream part of the furnace, adjusting the inclination of the lower air blower and/or rotating final hearth bed so as to reverse the upstream and downstream ends thereof.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a division of application Ser. No.10/119,705, filed Apr. 11, 2002, which claims benefit to Japanesepriority application no. 2001-115984, filed Apr. 13, 2001, whosedisclosure is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into thepresent application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for bending aglass sheet so that the glass sheet has a compound curvature for use in,e.g., an automobile window.

Herein, a glass sheet having a compound curvature is defined as a glasssheet of three-dimensional shape, especially curved with desiredcurvature radii along both X- and Y-axis directions and thereby beingconvex in a Z-axis direction according to the orthogonal coordinatesystem. A glass sheet curved simply in one direction to bepart-cylindrical is referred to as a glass sheet having a simplecurvature. Further, the terms “upstream” and “downstream” are defined inrelation to a direction in which the glass sheet is conveyed on oneproduction line.

There are several methods for bending a glass sheet such as anautomotive window glass. In one method, a glass sheet is heated tobecome soft and bent by making the heated glass sheet sag by gravitationin a mold. In another method, a glass sheet is heated and then pressedby press molds. In still another method, a glass sheet is heated andbent while floatingly conveyed over hearth beds in a furnace. Morespecifically, while the glass sheet is conveyed over a series of hearthbeds in a conveyance direction, hot gas is ejected toward the glasssheet so that the glass sheet is floated over the hearth beds. Thehearth beds have upper surfaces curved along a direction perpendicularto the conveyance direction. The glass sheet is thus heated with the hotgas, gradually sags by gravitation and is bent according to thecurvature of the upper surfaces of the hearth beds. In a subsequentstage, the bent glass sheet is quenched in a quenching unit.Alternatively, the glass sheet may be conveyed by a series of rollers inthe furnace and bent according to the curvature of the rollers. Adecision as to which method should be used is made depending on the sizeand curvature of bent glass sheets to be fabricated.

Among the above methods, the method using the hearth beds in the furnace(hereinafter referred to as a hearth bed bending method) has theadvantage in its productivity for bending the glass sheet along thedirection perpendicular to the conveyance direction. Thus, the glasssheets having a simple curvature can be fabricated at low cost by theheath bed bending method. In such a hearth bed bending method, it hasbeen proposed to heat, bend and quench the glass sheets while conveyingthe glass sheets either upwardly or downwardly along the conveyancedirection in order to also bend the glass sheets along the conveyancedirection with a curvature radius of tens of thousand of millimeters.However, it is not easy to bend the glass sheet along the conveyancedirection while conveying the heated glass sheets because of the furnacestructure.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,422 discloses an apparatus in whichsome hearth beds situated most downstream in a furnace and the lower airblower of a quenching unit are inclined downwardly along a conveyancedirection to form a curvature curved in both of the conveyance directionand a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, when theapparatus is equipped to fabricate glass sheets having a compoundcurvature.

Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,873 discloses an apparatus in which somehearth beds situated most downstream in a furnace are inclined upwardlyalong a conveyance direction so that the final hearth bed and the lowerair blower of a quenching unit form an upwardly convex curvature, whenfabricating glass sheets having a compound curvature.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,912 discloses an apparatus in which the final hearthbed has a top surface of which at least a downstream part is curved in aconveyance direction and is inclined upwardly, for fabricating glasssheets having a compound curvature.

In each of the above conventional apparatuses, the equipment thereof(especially, the final hearth bed) needs to be replaced and adjusted,when a different kind of product is to be fabricated. More specifically,in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,409,422 and 6,014,873, the above-mentioneddownstream hearth beds and quenching unit need to be replaced with newones. Then, the newly equipped hearth beds and quenching unit have to bepositioned in place by adjusting their respective supports so as to beproperly inclined and connected with each other. In U.S. Pat. No.5,522,912, the final hearth bed has to be replaced with a new one. Thenewly equipped bed needs to be inclined upwardly by adjusting itssupport properly. Such replacement and adjustment require much time andlabor, whereby the profitable merit of the hearth bed bending method(i.e., high productivity) cannot be maintained. In addition, therearises a problem that the position to take out the bent glass sheetsfrom the apparatus may become too low, when the glass sheets areconveyed downwardly along the conveyance direction through theapparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, an apparatus has been developed as disclosedin Japanese Patent No. 2809596 and Japanese Unexamined PatentPublication No. 7-237928, in order to save time and labor required toreplace and adjust the equipment of the apparatus for fabrication of adifferent kind of product.

In an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2809596, the finalhearth bed is arranged in alignment with other hearth beds for bendingglass sheets to have a simple curvature. For bending glass sheets tohave a compound curvature, the final hearth bed is rotated about avertical axis of rotation, without being inclined, so that the upstreamend surface of the final hearth bed forms a slight angle with thedownstream end surface of a hearth bed next to the final hearth bed, andat the same time, the lower air blower of a quenching unit is inclineddownwardly along the conveyance direction. In this state, the topsurface of the final hearth bed is curved upwardly in both theconveyance direction and the direction perpendicular to the conveyancedirection, whereby the flat glass sheet is bent into a shape having acompound curvature. Thus, a different kind of product can be fabricatedwith ease, i.e., a glass sheet can be bent to have a simple curvature orto have a compound curvature with ease because the production line canbe modified only by rotating the final hearth bed without replacing itwith another one. It is also beneficial that the final hearth bed can beshared even in fabricating different kinds of products. However, whenthe glass sheet is to be bent with a smaller radius of curvature alongthe conveyance direction, the final hearth bed has to be rotated furtherso that the top surface of the final hearth bed is curved with a smallerradius of curvature along the conveyance direction. In such a case, thespace between the final hearth bed and the hearth bed next to the finalhearth bed becomes larger, which causes a pressure drop of gas ejectiondue to gas leak through the space. Buoyancy to float the glass sheetbecomes weaker owing to the pressure drop. The glass sheet is caused torub against the hearth beds, thereby being formed with flaws and cracks.

Further, in an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined PatentPublication No. 7-237928, one side of a bent glass sheet is quenched,and then, both sides of the bent glass sheet are quenched in order tomodify a curvature of the bent glass sheet. It is however necessary toprovide additional equipment, such as a gas blowing system forpreviously quenching one side of the bent glass sheet.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a methodfor bending a glass sheet so that the glass sheet has a compoundcurvature by heating the glass sheet while conveying it over a series ofhearth beds in a furnace without disposing any hearth bed so as to beinclined either upwardly or downwardly along a conveyance direction.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an apparatussuitable for carrying out the above method.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for bending a glass sheet, comprising the steps of: preparing aplurality of hearth beds and a final hearth bed, the plurality of hearthbeds having top surfaces curved in a direction perpendicular to aconveyance direction with curvature radii that gradually decrease aslocated more downstream, the final hearth bed having an axis extendingbetween upstream and downstream ends thereof, a top surface curved in adirection perpendicular to the axis of the final hearth bed with apredetermined curvature radius and an upstream end surface including afirst surface section tilted toward a downstream end surface of thefinal hearth bed so as to form an angle θ with respect to a directionperpendicular to the axis of the final hearth bed; disposing theplurality of hearth beds and the final hearth bed in a furnace in such amanner that the final hearth bed is situated downstream of the pluralityof hearth beds with the first surface section being located adjacent toand substantially parallel to a downstream end surface of adjacent oneof the plurality of hearth beds; and heating the glass sheet in thefurnace while conveying the glass sheet in the conveyance direction overthe plurality of hearth beds and the final hearth bed, thereby bendingthe glass sheet so that the glass sheet has a compound curvature.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for bending a glass sheet, comprising the steps of: placing aplurality of hearth beds and a final hearth bed on a bed support in afurnace with flat bottom portions of the plurality of hearth beds and ofthe final hearth bed and a flat support surface of the bed supportcontacted with each other, the plurality of hearth beds having topsurfaces curved in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance directionwith curvature radii that gradually decrease as located more downstream,the final hearth bed being placed downstream of the plurality of hearthbeds and having a top surface curved in both the conveyance directionand the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction so as to beupwardly convex (in one embodiment, only the final hearth bed is curvedin the conveyance direction); arranging a quenching unit provided withupper and lower air blowers downstream of the final hearth bed; settingconditions for bending the glass sheet into a shape having a desiredcompound curvature, the step of setting comprising at least one of thesteps of changing a temperature in a downstream part of the furnace,positioning the upper and lower air blowers in such a manner that atangent to an upstream end portion of a top surface of the lower airblower forms an angle α with respect to a tangent to a downstream endportion of the top surface of the final hearth bed and is downwardlyinclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and rotating the finalhearth bed about a vertical axis of rotation so as to reverse upstreamand downstream ends thereof; heating the glass sheet in the furnacewhile conveying the glass sheet in the conveyance direction over theplurality of hearth beds and the final hearth bed, thereby bending theglass sheet so that the glass sheet has the desired compound curvature;and quenching the glass sheet in the quenching unit while conveying inthe conveyance direction over the lower air blower.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for bending a glass sheet, comprising: a furnace includingtherein a bed support, a plurality of hearth beds and a final hearth bedboth placed on the bed support, the plurality of hearth beds having topsurfaces curved in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance directionwith curvature radii that gradually decrease as located more downstream,the final hearth bed having an axis extending between upstream anddownstream ends thereof, a top surface curved in a directionperpendicular to the axis of the final hearth bed with a predeterminedcurvature radius and an upstream end surface including a first surfacesection tilted toward a downstream end surface of the final hearth bedso as to form an angle θ with respect to a direction perpendicular tothe axis of the final hearth bed, the final hearth bed being placeddownstream of the plurality of hearth beds in such a manner that thefirst surface section is located adjacent to and substantially parallelto a downstream end surface of adjacent one of the plurality of hearthbeds; a quenching unit provided with upper and lower air blowers andarranged downstream of the final hearth bed; and a conveyor that conveysthe glass sheet in the conveyance direction through the furnace and thequenching unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for bending a glass sheet, comprising: a furnace includingtherein a bed support provided with a flat support surface, a pluralityof hearth beds and a final hearth bed both having flat bottom portionsand placed on the bed support with the flat bottom portions and thesupport surface contacted with each other, the plurality of hearth bedshaving top surfaces curved in a direction perpendicular to a conveyancedirection with curvature radii that gradually decrease as located moredownstream, the final hearth bed being located downstream of theplurality of hearth beds and having a top surface curved in both theconveyance direction and the direction perpendicular to the conveyancedirection so as to be upwardly convex, the furnace having a plurality oftemperature zones and capable of controlling a temperature in eachtemperature zone; a quenching unit provided with upper and lower airblowers and arranged downstream of the final hearth bed in such a mannerthat a tangent to an upstream end portion of a top surface of the lowerair blower forms an angle α with respect to a tangent to a downstreamend portion of the top surface of the final hearth bed and is inclineddownwardly with respect to a horizontal plane; and a conveyor thatconveys the glass sheet in the conveyance direction through the furnaceand the quenching unit.

As described above, in the methods and apparatuses of the presentinvention, all the hearth beds including the final hearth bed are placedon the bed support with the flat bottom portions of the heart beds andthe flat support surface of the bed support contacted with each other.In other words, there is no necessity to incline any hearth bed eitherupwardly or downwardly along the conveyance direction, even whenfabricating the glass sheets having a compound curvature. Accordingly,the equipment of apparatus can be shared as much as possible. It istherefore possible to simplify the setting of the apparatus and savetime and labor necessary for the setting when a different kind ofproduct is to be fabricated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an apparatus for bending a glass sheetaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plane view of hearth beds, a final hearth bed anda lower air blower provided in the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the final hearth bed of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an apparatus for bending a glass sheetaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a final hearth bed provided in theapparatus of FIG. 4.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are schematic views of various modifications of the finalhearth bed of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration showing a connection between thefinal hearth bed and a lower air blower provided in the apparatus ofFIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an explanation will be given of methods and apparatuses forbending glass sheets according to the present invention based on thefollowing exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings. Itshould be noted that the curvatures of a final hearth bed and an airblower as well as space between hearth beds are slightly exaggerated inthe drawings for the purpose of illustration.

Firstly, an apparatus for bending a glass sheet 10 according to thefirst embodiment of the invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 3.

The apparatus of the first embodiment comprises a gas hearth furnace 1and a quenching unit 20. The apparatus further comprises a conveyorchain 3 (omitted from FIG. 1) for conveying the glass sheet 10 in aconveyance direction (indicated by an arrow C) through the apparatus.Pads (not shown) are put on the conveyor chain 3 and used for holdingthe glass sheet 10.

The gas hearth furnace 1 is a tunnel furnace, and includes therein a bedsupport 4, a plurality of hearth beds 2 and a final hearth bed 5situated downstream of the hearth beds 2. The bed support 4 may beformed of a single piece or some separate portions. The hearth beds 2and 5 are generally rectangular and arranged in line on the bed support4. Although alittle space is provided between adjacent two of the hearthbeds 2 and 5 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hearth beds 2 and 5 may bearranged so as to contact with each other.

The hearth beds 2 and 5 have flat bottom surfaces, while the bed support4 has a support surface that is flat though declines a little as will bedescribed below. It is therefore possible to set the hearth beds 2 and 5appropriately just by placing them on the bed support 4, withoutadjusting each of the hearth beds 2 and 5 so as to be inclined eitherupwardly or downwardly along the conveyance direction throughout thefurnace. In other words, the hearth beds 2 and 5 can be held in placewhen placed on the bed support 4. This makes it less labored to set theequipment of apparatus. Further, the support surface of the bed support4 declines toward the conveyor chain 3 at an angle of a few degrees withrespect to a horizontal plane. Thus, the hearth beds 2 and 5 declinetoward the conveyor chain 3 at the same angle with respect to ahorizontal plane when placed on the bed support 4. This makes itpossible to easily support the glass sheet 10 by the pads put on theconveyor chain 3.

The most upstream hearth bed 2 and some other hearth beds 2 adjacentthereto have flat top surfaces. The remaining hearth beds 2 have topsurfaces that are curved along a direction perpendicular to theconveyance direction so as to have simple curvatures whose radiigradually decrease as the hearth beds 2 are located more downstream. Atleast one of the hearth beds 2 situated adjacent to the final hearth bed5 has a top surface curved along the direction perpendicular to theconveyance direction with a predetermined curvature radius, which issubstantially equivalent to the curvature radius of a bent glass sheetto be fabricated.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the final hearth bed 5 has an axis Oextending between its upstream end through its downstream end. The topsurface of the final hearth bed 5 is curved in a direction perpendicularto the axis O with substantially the same curvature radius as the abovepredetermined curvature radius and is provided with its one upstreamcorner cut away thereby defining a cut surface section 5 a on theupstream end surface. More specifically, the upstream end surface of thefinal hearth bed 5 includes the cut surface section 5 a tilted towardthe downstream end surface of the final hearth bed 5 so as to form anangle θ with respect to the axis O of the final hearth bed 5. In thisembodiment, the upstream end surface of the final hearth bed 5 furtherincludes a surface section 5 b parallel to the downstream end surface ofthe final hearth bed 5 (i.e., extending in the direction perpendicularto the axis O). The final hearth bed 5 is arranged in such a manner thatthe cut surface section 5 a faces toward and becomes substantiallyparallel to the downstream end surface of the hearth bed 2 adjacent tothe final hearth bed 5 (referred to as an adjacent hearth bed) and thatthe axis O of the final hearth bed 5 forms the angle θ with respect tothe conveyance direction, as shown in FIG. 2. By this arrangement, thetop surface of the final hearth bed 5 has a curvature curved in both theconveyance direction and the direction perpendicular to the conveyancedirection. Preferably, the cut surface section 5 a is formed so that theangle θ is from 1 to 2 degrees. Also, the cut surface section 5 a may beformed so that the intersection of the surface sections 5 a and 5 b islocated on the axis O when observed in plane.

Each of the hearth beds 2 and 5 is provided with a plurality of gasejection holes 11 as shown in FIG. 3. While the glass sheet 10 isconveyed in the conveyance direction through the gas hearth furnace 1 bymeans of the conveyor chain 3, hot gas is ejected from the gas ejectionholes 11 so that the glass sheet 10 is held afloat over the hearth beds2 and 5. The glass sheet 10 is then heated to a softening point with thehot gas while floatingly conveyed through the gas hearth furnace 1.

Using the above apparatus, the glass sheet 10 is bent into a shapehaving a compound curvature while conveyed over the hearth beds 2 and 5in the gas hearth furnace 1. As the final hearth bed 5 is provided withthe cut surface section 5 a and disposed in such a manner that the cutsurface section 5 a is situated adjacent to and nearly parallel to theadjacent hearth bed 2, the space between the final hearth bed 5 and theadjacent hearth bed 2 becomes smaller. It is therefore possible tomaintain buoyancy to float the glass sheet 10 by preventing pressuredrop in the gas ejection. Thus, the glass sheet 10 can be prevented fromrubbing against the final hearth bed 5 and the adjacent hearth bed 2,even when the final hearth bed 5 is rotated about a vertical axis ofrotation so that the surface section 5 b forms a relatively large anglewith the downstream end surface of the adjacent hearth bed 2. This makesit possible to prevent flaws and cracks in the glass sheet 10 due to therubbing.

Meanwhile, it is not necessary to contact the cut surface section 5 awith the adjacent hearth bed 2 and to arrange the cut surface section 5a parallel to the adjacent hearth bed 2. However, a good repeatabilityin arrangement of the final hearth bed 5 can be attained by contactingthe cut surface section 5 a with the adjacent hearth bed 2 or arrangingthe cut surface section 5 a parallel to the adjacent hearth bed 2.

To bend the glass sheet 10 so that the glass sheet 10 has a simplecurvature by the use of the above-described apparatus, the final hearthbed 5 may be rearranged so that the surface section 5 b is locatedadjacent to and parallel to the downstream end surface of the adjacenthearth bed 2.

The quenching unit 20 is provided adjacent to the final hearth bed 5 viaan outlet of the gas hearth furnace 1, and is supported by a supportcolumn provided with a jack (not shown). The quenching unit 20 includesupper and lower air blowers 22 and 23. Each of the upper and lower airblowers 22 and 23 is provided with air ducts 21 through which coolingair is supplied to the upper and lower air blowers 22 and 23. The lowerair blower 23 has a top surface curved in the direction perpendicular tothe conveyance direction with substantially the same curvature as thatof the final hearth bed 5. The upper air blower 22 has a bottom surfacecurved corresponding to the top surface of the lower air blower 23.Herein, the lower air blower 23 serves as a quenching bed. The glasssheet 10 bent in the gas hearth furnace 1 is quenched rapidly with thecooling air blown from the upper and lower air blowers 22 and 23.

Preferably, the quenching unit 20 is disposed in such a manner that thetop surface of the lower air blower 23 is inclined downwardly as locateddownstream at an angle φ with respect to the top surface of the finalhearth bed 5 in order to bend the glass sheet 10 in the conveyancedirection while preventing flows and cracks in the glass sheet 10. Theangle φ is generally equal to or smaller than 1 degree, preferably equalto or smaller than 0.5 degrees.

Further, the quenching unit 20 may be used commonly for bending theglass sheet 10 to have a simple curvature and a compound curvaturewithout the necessity of being changed to another one. In such a case,the inclination of the quenching unit 20 is adjusted properly by usingthe jack. More specifically, the quenching unit 20 is arranged so thatthe top surface of the lower air blower 23 is leveled (i.e., the angle φis zero) for bending the glass sheet 10 to have a simple curvature.Alternatively, another lower air blower may be provided with a topsurface curved in both the conveyance direction and the directionperpendicular to the conveyance direction.

Next, an apparatus for bending a glass sheet 10 according to the secondembodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4,5, 6A to 6C and 7, in which like parts and portions are designated bylike reference numerals and repeated descriptions thereof are omitted.

The apparatus of the second embodiment is the same as that of the firstembodiment, except that a final hearth bed 50 provided with gas ejectionholes and a quenching unit 200 including upper and lower air blowers 220and 230 are used in place of the final hearth bed 5 and the quenchingunit 20, respectively.

The final hearth bed 50 is generally rectangular and has a flat bottomsurface. Further, the final hearth bed 50 has a top surface curved inboth the conveyance direction and the direction perpendicular to theconveyance direction so as to be upwardly convex with its apex 12 (referto FIG. 5). More specifically, the top surface of the final hearth bed50 is curved along the direction perpendicular to the conveyancedirection with the same curvature radius as that of the adjacent hearthbed 2, which is substantially equivalent to the curvature radius of abent glass sheet to be fabricated, and is curved in a smooth curve alongthe conveyance direction.

For example, the top surface of the final hearth bed 50 may be curved inan arc with a single curvature radius R along the conveyance direction.In this case, the apex 12 is not necessarily located at the center ofthe top surface of the final hearth bed 50, and may be situated on theupstream side or downstream side of the center. When the apex 12 issituated on the downstream side as shown in FIG. 6B, the downstream endof the top surface is made Δh higher than the upstream end of the topsurface. On the other hand, if the apex 12 is situated on the upstreamside, the upstream end of the top surface is made higher than thedownstream end of the top surface.

Alternatively, the top surface of the final hearth bed 50 may be shapedin another smooth curve, such as a spline curve, along the conveyancedirection. Both of the upstream and downstream ends of the top surfaceare not necessarily at the same height. However, when the upstream anddownstream ends of the top surface are at the same height, the finalhearth bed 50 may be rotated about a vertical axis of rotation so as toreverse the upstream and downstream ends thereof for modifying thecurvature of the bent glass sheet. By way of example, it is now assumedthat the top surface of the final hearth bed 50 is smoothly curved alongthe conveyance direction with two different curvature radii R1 and R2:the upstream side of the top surface is curved with the curvature radiusof R1=30,000 mm and the downstream side of the top surface is curvedwith the curvature radius of R2=20,000 mm and that the upstream anddownstream ends of the top surface are at the same height, as shown inFIG. 6C. In FIG. 6C, the apex 12 is situated downstream of the center ofthe top surface and spaced therefrom by about 65 mm in length (i.e.,about 9% of the length of the final hearth bed). If the final hearth bed50 is rotated about the vertical axis of rotation to dispose theupstream and downstream ends thereof inversely, the apex 12 is shiftedto the upstream side. In this case, the glass sheet 10 can be bent witha smaller curvature radius along the conveyance direction after thefinal hearth bed 50 is rotated so as to reverse the upstream anddownstream ends thereof.

Herein, the final hearth bed 50 needs to be connected with both of thehearth bed 2 adjacent to the final hearth bed 50 (referred to as anadjacent hearth bed) and the lower air blower 230 smoothly. Further,when the apex 12 is situated on the downstream side, it becomes possibleto use the gas hearth furnace 1 throughout its length for heating andbending the glass sheet 10. However, the glass sheet 10 is liable to beaffected by the atmosphere and/or the cooling air from the quenchingunit 200, when the apex 12 is situated too closely to the outlet of thegas hearth furnace 1. This will cause unstable bending of the glasssheet 10. Moreover, the downwardly inclined downstream end portion ofthe top surface of the final hearth bed 50 is effective for making theglass sheet 10 be unlikely to be damaged at around the connectionbetween the final hearth bed 50 and the quenching unit 200. It istherefore preferable that the apex 12 is situated on the upstream sideor downstream side of the center of the top surface and spaced therefromby a distance of 15% or less of the length of the final hearth bed. Inthe case that the final hearth bed 50 has a typical length of 762 mm (30in.) along the conveyance direction, it is preferable that the apex 12is situated on the upstream side or downstream side of the center of thetop surface and spaced therefrom by a distance of 114 mm or less.

Further, the gas hearth furnace 1 has a plurality of temperature zonesalong the conveyance direction, and can control the temperature in eachtemperature zone. The temperatures in some temperature zones locatedmost downstream, which occupy 20% of the gas hearth furnace 1 in length,may be changed so as to modify the curvature of the bent glass sheet. Itis especially effective for modification of the curvature to change thetemperatures in the last three temperature zones located mostdownstream, which occupy 15% of the gas hearth furnace 1 in length. Morespecifically, the glass sheet 10 can be bent with a larger curvatureradius along the conveyance direction, when the temperatures in theabove temperature zones are decreased. On the other hand, the glasssheet 10 can be bent with a smaller curvature radius along theconveyance direction, when the temperatures in the above temperaturezones are increased. The temperatures in the above temperature zones maybe set at the same value or set at gradually varying values fromupstream to downstream. The temperatures in the temperature zones can bedetermined in consideration of, e.g., the heating capacity of the gashearth furnace 1 and the properties of the glass sheet 10.

The quenching unit 200 includes the upper and lower air blowers 220 and230. The top surface of the lower air blower 230 is curved in both theconveyance direction and the direction perpendicular to the conveyancedirection, while the bottom surface of the upper air blower 220 isshaped corresponding to the top surface of the lower air blower 230.Herein, the lower air blower 230 serves as a quenching bed.

The quenching unit 200 may be disposed in such a manner that a tangent230 a to an upstream end portion of the top surface of the lower airblower 230 forms an angle α with respect to a tangent 50 a to adownstream end portion of the top surface of the final hearth bed 50 asshown in FIG. 7, so as to modify the curvature of the bent glass sheet.More specifically, the glass sheet 10 can be bent with a largercurvature radius along the conveyance direction, when the lower airblower 230 is inclined in the conveyance direction upwardly at the angleα. On the other hand, the glass sheet 10 can be bent with a smallercurvature radius along the conveyance direction, when the lower airblower 230 is inclined in the conveyance direction downwardly at theangle α. The angle α is adjusted in such a manner that a tangent to theupstream portion of top surface of the lower air blower 230 is inclineddownwardly in the conveyance direction with respect to a horizontalplane. For example, when the final hearth bed 50 has a typical length of762 mm (30 in.) along the conveyance direction and the top surfacethereof is curved with a curvature radius of 20,000 mm along theconveyance direction, the tangent 50 a extend downwardly at about 1.2degrees with respect to the horizontal plane. Therefore, in this case,when the lower air blower 230 is inclined upwardly in the conveyancedirection, the inclination angle α is set to generally equal to orsmaller than 1 degree, preferably equal to or smaller than 0.5 degrees.

As described above, it is possible to modify the curvature of the bentglass sheet just by controlling the temperatures in the temperaturezones, adjusting the inclination angle α of the quenching unit 200,and/or rotating the final hearth bed 50 about the vertical axis ofrotation. It is also possible to adjust the position to take out thebent glass sheet from the apparatus by a combination of controlling thetemperatures in the temperature zones and adjusting the inclinationangle α of the quenching unit 200.

The present invention will be specifically illustrated in more detail byway of the following examples.

EXAMPLE 1

A glass sheet having a size of 820 mm×520 mm, a length of 762 mm and athickness of 3.5 mm was bent using the apparatus as shown in FIG. 4. Thefurnace was constructed so as to have eleven temperature zones, andadjusted the temperatures in the last three temperature zones to 680° C.The final hearth bed had a top surface curved with a curvature radius of20,000 mm in the conveyance direction and a curvature radius of 1,250 mmin the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction so that thetop surface was made upwardly convex with its apex located at thecenter. The quenching unit was disposed without being inclined (i.e.,α=0). The lower air blower had a top surface curved with substantiallythe same curvature radii in both the conveyance direction and thedirection perpendicular to the conveyance direction as those of thefinal hearth bed.

The obtained bent glass sheet had a compound curvature with a curvatureradius of 24,540 mm in the conveyance direction and a curvature radiusof about 1,250 mm in the direction perpendicular to the conveyancedirection.

EXAMPLE 2

A glass sheet having the same size, length and thickness as used inExample 1 was bent under the same condition, except that the top surfaceof the final hearth bed was curved with a curvature radius of 30,000 mmin the conveyance direction and the quenching unit was disposeddownwardly at the inclination angle α of about 1 degree. In thisarrangement, the downstream end portion of the top surface of the finalhearth bed is at a downward angle of about 0.7 degrees with respect to ahorizon.

The obtained bent glass sheet had a curvature radius of about 20,000 mmin the conveyance direction and a curvature radius of 1,250 mm in thedirection perpendicular to the conveyance direction.

EXAMPLE 3

A glass sheet having the same size and thickness as used in Example 1was bent under the same condition, except that the temperatures in thelast three temperature zones were changed. When the temperatures in thelast three temperature zones were made 10° C. higher, the obtained bentglass sheet had a curvature radius of 22,320 mm in the conveyancedirection. On the other hand, when the temperatures in the last threetemperature zones were made 10° C. lower, the obtained bent glass sheethad a curvature radius of 26,150 mm in the conveyance direction. Ineither case, the obtained bent glass sheet had a curvature radius of1,250 mm in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction.

The apparatus used in this example was allowed to change thetemperatures in the temperature zones within a range of 680±25° C. tomodify the curvature of the bent glass sheets. However, it was possibleto modify the curvature of the bent glass sheets as described above bychanging the temperatures by only ±10° C.

As described above, it is possible to simplify the setting of apparatusequipment for changing the kind of products to be fabricated accordingto the present invention, without the necessity to dispose the hearthbeds so as to be inclined upwardly or downwardly, i.e., to change theinclinations of the hearth beds by adjusting their respective supports,and is therefore possible to maintain high productivity.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited to theabove-described embodiments. Various modification and variation of theembodiments described above will occur to those skilled in the art inlight of the above teaching. For example, the hearth beds 2, 5 and 50may have bottom surfaces that are partly flat so that the bed support 4supports the hearth beds 2, 5 and 50 through such flat portions.Further, the final hearth bed 5 of the first embodiment may have a cutsurface section defined by cutting away the other upstream cornerthereof so that the final hearth bed 5 is rotated to the oppositedirection. The scope of the invention is defined with reference to thefollowing claims.

1. A method for bending a glass sheet, comprising the steps of:preparing a plurality of hearth beds and a final hearth bed, theplurality of hearth beds having top surfaces curved in a directionperpendicular to a conveyance direction with curvature radii thatgradually decrease as located more downstream, the final hearth bedhaving an axis extending between upstream and downstream ends thereof, atop surface curved in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the finalhearth bed with a predetermined curvature radius and an upstream endsurface including a first surface section tilted toward a downstream endsurface of the final hearth bed so as to form an angle θ with respect toa direction perpendicular to the axis of the final hearth bed; disposingthe plurality of hearth beds and the final hearth bed in a furnace insuch a manner that the final hearth bed is situated downstream of theplurality of hearth beds with the first surface section being locatedadjacent to and substantially parallel to a downstream end surface ofadjacent one of the plurality of hearth beds; and heating the glasssheet in the furnace while conveying the glass sheet in the conveyancedirection over the plurality of hearth beds and the final hearth bed,thereby bending the glass sheet so that the glass sheet has a compoundcurvature.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the final hearthbed is generally rectangular, and the upstream end surface of the finalhearth bed further includes a second surface section parallel to thedownstream end surface of the final hearth bed.
 3. The method accordingto claim 2, wherein an intersection of the first and second surfacesections is located on the axis when observed in plan.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the angle θ is within a range from 1 to 2degrees.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step ofdisposing includes placing the plurality of hearth beds and the finalhearth bed on a bed support with flat bottom portions of the pluralityof hearth beds and the final hearth bed and a flat support surface ofthe bed support contacted with each other.
 6. The method according toclaim 1, further comprising the steps of: arranging a quenching unitprovided with upper and lower air blowers downstream of the final hearthbed in such a manner that a top surface of the lower air blower isinclined downwardly as located downstream so as to form an angle φ withrespect to the top surface of the final hearth bed; and quenching theglass sheet in the quenching unit while conveying the glass sheet in theconveyance direction over the lower air blower.
 7. An apparatus forbending a glass sheet, comprising: a furnace including therein a bedsupport, a plurality of hearth beds and a final hearth bed both placedon the bed support, the plurality of hearth beds having top surfacescurved in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction withcurvature radii that gradually decrease as located more downstream, thefinal hearth bed having an axis extending between upstream anddownstream ends thereof, a top surface curved in a directionperpendicular to the axis of the final hearth bed with a predeterminedcurvature radius and an upstream end surface including a first surfacesection tilted toward a downstream end surface of the final hearth bedso as to form an angle θ with respect to a direction perpendicular tothe axis of the final hearth bed, the final hearth bed being placeddownstream of the plurality of hearth beds in such a manner that thefirst surface section is located adjacent to and substantially parallelto a downstream end surface of adjacent one of the plurality of hearthbeds; a quenching unit provided with upper and lower air blowers andarranged downstream of the final hearth bed; and a conveyor that conveysthe glass sheet in the conveyance direction through the furnace and thequenching unit.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the finalhearth bed is generally rectangular, and the upstream end surface of thefinal hearth bed further includes a second surface section parallel tothe downstream end surface of the final hearth bed.
 9. The apparatusaccording to claim 8, wherein an intersection of the first and secondsurface sections is located on the axis of the final hearth bed whenobserved in plan.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein theangle θ is within a range from 1 to 2 degrees.
 11. The apparatusaccording to claim 7, wherein the bed support has a flat supportsurface, and the plurality of hearth beds and the final hearth bed haveflat bottom portions and are placed on the bed support with the flatbottom portions and the support surface contacted with each other. 12.The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the quenching unit isarranged so that a top surface of the lower air blower is inclineddownwardly as located downstream so as to form an angle φ with respectto the top surface of the final hearth bed.